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A Bicentennial Year

Lifestyle Columns

2026 marks two hundred fifty years since the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence. As countries go, we’re relatively young in culture and identity. On the bright side, our form of government has endured for two and a half centuries – much longer than many other modern countries. As you think about the year ahead, consider some of these great nonfiction titles in our collection that can help you better understand, appreciate, or celebrate the events that started a nation. You may have seen them posted on a classroom wall or framed in a school hallway, but when was ...

Citizens State Bank celebrates 150 YEARS

Lifestyle Feature

With 800 people, the village of New Ulm was need of more banking services in 1875. Citizens State Bank opened Feb. 1, 1876 in downtown New Ulm. Citizens was not the first bank in New Ulm. There were a handful of older banks in New Ulm prior to 1875. A new bank building made of stone, ...

Color combinations make for fashionable vases

Lifestyle Columns

Two-toned glass where one color shades into the other was fashionable in the late 19th to early 20th century. It started with amberina, which shades from red to amber and was made by reheating part of a piece of amber glass. Many companies made it, but usually under different names, since amberina was patented for the New England Glass Company. Other color combinations were made by adding a thin layer of flashed glass to the interior of a piece of transparent colored glass. Bluerina, a blue-shaded glass whose name is influenced by amberina, was made this way. Collectors use the name ...

Winter fun at the Library

Lifestyle Columns

Looking for fun activities this winter? The Library of Things (LOT) is an excellent starting point. Whether you want your children to learn new skills or are looking to boost family physical activity, many LOT items—available to check out with your library card—can help you achieve your goals. Check out a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activity to strengthen logical thought processes and problem-solving skills or try a board game from the library’s extensive collection to stimulate the brain areas responsible for memory and complex processing. Explore the Library ...

Looking back at the ‘heart’ of AMPI’s dairy operation

Lifestyle Feature

On the final day of 2025, the sale of Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) butter plant in New Ulm to Grassland Dairy Products was finalized. The butter plant, located at 312 Center Street, continues to produce butter and receive AMPI cream but now operates under Grassland. Though AMPI no ...

Famed English pottery traces history to 1775

Lifestyle Columns

John Aynsley founded his pottery in Staffordshire, England, in 1775 and initially made earthenware. Like many pottery makers, his son and, later, his grandson joined the business; its name changed to John Aynsley & Sons in the 1860s. About that time, the company began making bone china. The company has been a favorite of the British royal family from Queen Victoria onward. In 1970, Waterford bought the company and changed its name to Aynsley China Ltd. It has changed hands again since then, but still operates as Aynsley China. An Aynsley teapot with a matching trivet sold at an ...